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The Fifteen Family

Set up in 2002 by Jamie Oliver, Fifteen is a restaurant group that uses the magic of food to give unemployed young people a chance to have a better future. After the flagship restaurant was established in London in 2002, two other restaurants were opened, following the same inspirational model: Fifteen Amsterdam in 2004 and Fifteen Cornwall in 2006. The aim of all the businesses is to get young people to believe in themselves and convince them it is possible to create their own futures. Every year, each restaurant takes on unemployed and under-qualified young people, aged between 18 and 24, and trains them to become qualified chefs through a unique Apprentice Programme. The apprentices are taught to love and respect food and its provenance, while taking in everything from traditional bakery and butchery to the finest pastry skills.

The name 'Fifteen' comes from the original group of 15 apprentices who joined the London programme in 2002. Since then, more than 350 young people have graduated across all the restaurants, with some of them now running their own restaurants, starring on TV or working in top-class kitchens from London to New York to Sydney. In fact, a 2002 apprentice, Tim Siadatan, was named one of the 'Top 10 Young European Chefs' by The Wall Street Journal, following the opening of his restaurant Trullo in 2010.

Each Restaurant redirects its profits into individual registered charities that fund their Apprentice Programmes – as shown below. This means money goes back into the local economies to train the next generation of professional chefs.

The Foundation

Apprentice of the month

Congratulations to Nathaniel Chapman who is our Apprentice of the Month for June.

Nathaniel has impressed throughout the year with his can-do attitude, professionalism and approachable manner. But it was his time with Jamie Oliver's Food Team that really set Nathaniel apart this month. As Elspeth Meston (Assistant Food Stylist for the Jamie Oliver Group) explained: "Nathaniel helped the Food Team out this week with the catering for Jamie's TV filming. He kept calm and collected at all times, whilst being extremely efficient and happy to respond to our erratic and, at times, mad requests! Very happy to help, remaining organised and tidy. He was a pleasure to work with! Well done Nathaniel and thank you!"